Andrea
by trigirl48
Summary: Another plant child is born and Knives attempts to teach her to be like him. Is he going to succed in using her to kill the humans, or will Vash step in and show her their good side?
1. A new sister

I do not own Trigun but I wish I did. TT If I don't send you a reply thanking you for reviewing it's not because of you it's because I didn't get a chance and forgot, can't, or just plain out forgot. Thank you for reading!

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_Pain, over whelming fear. A group of humans held a newborn child._

"_Unbelievable! The plant gave birth." _

_Pain, over whelming fear, a group of humans held a newborn child._

"_Unbelievable! The plant gave birth." _

"_This is a remarkable chance to study a plant in detail." _

"_We could learn so much!"_

"_We must tell the others right away!"_

_The humans walked off as the baby starts to cry. A pleading female voice reverberated in the stark white void. _

"_Only you can help her,_ brother._"_

Knives bolted upright in his chair and put his face in his hand. _'That dream, it was a plea for help.'_ He stood from his desk and went outside. The mansion he had so conveniently "found" was only two stories tall, but it was long and suited his needs. A wall wrapped around the place and though it was close in the front, the wall extended in the back to make a courtyard. It was this courtyard that Knives now looked over from the wrap around balcony. _'A new plant will soon be born into this world. I must find our sister before she gives birth or the humans will use her for their selfish needs. A new sister that will be like Vash and I, maybe now I will be able to convince him to abandon his worthless cause.'_

"Master?" Knives looked towards the owner of the voice and from the looks of his clothes, he had been sleeping.

"Legato, tomorrow ready a vehicle, I'm going out for a while."

"Is there anything else Master?"

"No." Legato nodded and turned. Knives closed his eyes and opened his mind. He asked each one of her sisters about the cry for help. Eventually he found out about a town thousands of isles away. An insane smile twisted across Knives' lips. With this new plant he could finally turn the tide against his brother.

That morning Knives got into the jeep that Legato had prepared. There were a few supplies in the back but most of them he wouldn't need.

"Will you be going alone master?"

"Yes, this is a family matter." Legato nodded. Let him think it's about Vash; it wasn't any of his business anyway. Knives started the car and headed North East. He opened his mind again. His sisters were too far spread out to talk to all of them but he hoped to narrow it down. It didn't work, they didn't know the name. He did, though, find out that the town had two plants. An unusual thing to have seeing as most places had only one. Knives frowned he would make the humans pay for exploiting his kind like that.

The desert stretched on endlessly through out the day and Knives thought about how this would change things. Before this he had to tread carefully with Vash because one false moves and he would lose his brother to the humans. Now, with this new plant, he had a chance to out number him, a chance to win Vash over. But he had to teach her first. He would teach her to be like him, how humans are something to be destroyed. He grinned, _'Kill the spider to save the butterfly.'_

The next day, the day after that, and that whole week was the same as the first, iles upon iles, upon iles of sand. He briefly entertained the thought of meeting Vash in one of these towns and laughed. Oh, if only it would happen. Imagining the look on his face when he told him what he was doing just wasn't enough. Knives could picture it now.

"Hey, Vash how's it going?" He would ask his brother's speechless face.

"What are you doing here Knives?" Vash would ask angrily.

"Oh, just on my way to pick up our new sister." Knives would answer casually, like he had done it a million times before. Vash's whole mind and face would go blank in confusion. Knives laughed again, it was too funny not to.

Eventually, Knives came across a bus/truck stop. There were a few trucks out front and as much as he hated to admit it, he had to eat. He parked away from the others and walked inside.

"What can I getcha Hun?" The waitress behind the counter looked at him expectantly with a pad and pencil.

"The fastest thing you have…to go." She looked out the big windows. It was already dark out.

"All right Sweetheart." She went through a door into the back. Knives looked around. There were a few people scattered about. Some of them were hunched down around beers, a trio was playing a game of cards in a corner, and one or two were watching him. _'They have a right to be cautious. I'm a step closer to my goal.'_

"Here you go Hun." A small box was set down next to him, "That'll be 3$$." Ignoring her, Knives grabbed the box and headed for the door. He made sure the woman wouldn't complain.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" It was one of the puny humans that had watched him. "These people work hard on this God forsaken rock to give you that food, the least you can do is pay a few measly double dollars!" Knives kept walking.

"You should stop talking and sit before I do it for you."

"Oi, is that a threat?" Knives stopped when he heard the sound of a gun clicking. He didn't have time for this, that's why he hadn't killed these people already.

"I suggest you put that away if you want to live."

"I don't think you have the authority to say that." Knives sighed.

"I told you to put that away." Screams filled the air as Knives used his powers to contort the man's body in an impossible shape. He smiled as the smell of blood filled his nose. As he walked out and started the car, he let go of the woman's mind. He took pleasure in hearing her scream. The only thing that could have made it better was if Vash had been there.

It wasn't until well after the moons rose that he stopped for the night.


	2. Step closer to my goal

Knives used the trip as an opportunity to think. How long had it been since he crashed the SEEDS ships on this planet? About 150 years if he remembered correctly. Like he would ever let the humans pollute the universe. They killed their own planet, and then used his kind to move to another planet to murder. His kind was being exploited and he had to stop it. The humans will die and he'll make the planet into his own Eden. Those thoughts lead him to his brother. That sentimental fool had always been a problem. Vash thought they deserved to get a second chance. He was too attached to the woman who had raised them. He had tried to save Rem, but in the end she had sacrificed herself to save the humans. She was flawed just like them. He couldn't even count the number of times he had asked Vash to join him. Vash always refused, of course, but they were brothers and had to stick together.

His train of thought shifted to a new rail then, the plant child. He would have to raise her himself so that she would not be corrupted. He would teach her about the atrocities of human kind and how the virus of the universe should be destroyed. He would also teach her how to use her powers. It would take a few years, but he had waited about 150 years already, what would a few more hurt?

After a few days Knives pulled in a town called New Arlington. Many towns seemed to have the word "new" in their name as they tried to make this world more like Earth. Two of the seven cities were named after the old Earth months of July and December and one after the ancient Roman name Augustus. Actually, that should be six cities. Knives had activated Vash's power and used it to level July. The initial blast hadn't killed anyone but afterwards countless died from hunger, thirst, exposure, despair or other things.

Knives slowed down. He wanted to find someplace quiet. He passed a plaza with a tall monument in the center. That wouldn't do, he wanted a place away from them. He settled on a hotel in the down and out part of town. Using his mental powers, he made the clerk give him a room key.

The room was small, the bed sagged in the middle, and the only table balanced precariously on three legs. None of that mattered though because there were hardly any humans here and the fewer humans the better.

Knives walked over to the window and opened his mind. He was closer now, and he would be able to find the sister who called him easily. He found a thread of fear and followed it. His mind came to two plants at the same place. He found them. Knives touched his sister's minds and didn't like what he was told. The plant child had already been born when he was called for, which meant the humans had already taken her, for the child was a girl like he suspected, away for study. Knives promised he was coming and pulled away. This was just another reason why the humans must die. In anger, he sent out a burst of his mental powers through the town. He growled as he went back to the car. He had much less time than he originally thought, and he didn't think it was much then either. He peeled away from the hotel and the newly dead bodies that filled the town.

New Austin two weeks after Knives left:

"Hey, what's the news on the plant child?" A man asked. He was carrying a clipboard and had a long, open, white coat draped about his shoulders.

"It's amazing how fast she rows, she's only three weeks old and already she looks like she's four or five." A similarly dressed woman responded. The first nodded.

"I heard that her mental capacity is extraordinarily huge. Does she have any sort of abilities?"

"We're not sure right now, but in a few more weeks we're going to start more rigorous testing."

"Excuse me," a new voice interrupted. The owner was tall with very short platinum blonde hair, "I'm looking for the child you were just speaking of. Do you know where I can find her?"

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" asked the white coated man. His counter part spoke up as well.

"Even more so, how did you hear about her? Only the scientists here know about her."

"Let's just say I have people on the inside. Now, will you tell me or am I going to have to kill you?" Both their eyes widened in fear and the man tried to run. The open opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out as the intruder's arm turned into an impossibly long blade and killed the male scientist.

"Now," said Knives, his arm back to normal, "I believe you were going to take me to the child." He smiled warmly but his smile was over powered by the psychotic look in his eyes. She looked at him and gulped before nodding. Trembling she got up, wondering why she was on the floor pressed against the wall.

"F-fol-" She took a shaky breath to calm herself. It didn't work and she motioned for him to follow her as she started down the hall.

Knives was led down four more hallways before his escort stopped in front of a door. She punched in a number on a keypad and stepped aside for him as the door slide open. Inside, as the scientist had mentioned, was a girl about four or five hooked up to a bunch of computers. They didn't know he was there until a neatly sliced co-worker fell to the ground.

"Hey! Who le-" A second and third person fell. The fourth tried to call for help on an intercom but was cut short.

Knives walked over and knelt next to the girl, who had watched him from the start, and disconnected her. He figured he should give her a name. There was nothing wring with calling her sister, since that's what she was, but it just wouldn't do.

He studied her for a few moments. The thing that got him was her hair. All plants had blonde hair, but her. Her hair was perfectly black. That was unusual because dark on a plant usually meant that said plant was on its last legs and close to death. She had to have been born like this because he could fell that she had much power, possibly more than his own, and he also sensed that her telepathic abilities were great.

Her pale grey eyes looked up at him as he stood and held out his hand. She didn't look scared, or worried, or happy, or anything. She just looked at him like he had always been there, like he was just part of the background. Knives frowned when she kept staring and didn't take his hand.

"Andrea." He said tersely, hoping that hearing her new name would work. It did, Andrea took his hand with a smile and hopped off her chair.

The span between when he came in and when Andrea took his hand was only a few seconds and the one who called for help had managed to get a partial message out. Looking both was as he entered the hall; Knives led Andrea back the way he had come, killing all the humans he came across as he went. Andrea didn't flinch at the violence. At the first corridor Knives headed for the Plant room.

"You there, let me see-" Every person in the room was sliced to pieces. Knives looked up at the plant containment chambers.

"I'm here, dear sisters." Andrea let go of his hand and ran up a set of stairs to a cat walk nest to the containment chambers. She stopped next to on of them and looked up at the plant inside. The plant did the same, both had their hands on the glass and by the time Knives got there he knew that this was the one that had called for help. He put a hand on the chamber and promised to take care of Andrea and to teach her everything she would need to know. Andrea grabbed his leg and sniffled.

"Andrea." It was time to go. Andrea wiped her face with her arm and took Knives' hand. She blinked as they stepped outside, the dim indoor lighting all she had ever seen. It was in the sun that Knives noticed the sterile gown that she was wearing. He would have to get her something better in town.


	3. Train of thought

"Where are we going?" It was a question most kids Andrea's physical age would ask, but the plant child just stayed quiet as she and Knives came out of the clothing store. The people kindly "gave" those clothes to them and also some clothes that she would be able to wear when she was older. Knives got her a few more things and something to eat before he decided to leave. Instead of going back to the mansion, he headed for a town called Meldrek. He was sensing Vash's presence there.

"Vash are you okay?" He looked down at the little black haired woman, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Meryl, ready to go?" He put on a smile, but he could tell she was worried about him.

From the beginning Vash had been opposed to the girls following him. It was embarrassing enough being called a local disaster, but having an insurance company send people to follow you was just too much. When Knives, and his minion Legato, appeared it became more dangerous and it wasn't just the danger the girls were facing that he was worried about. He had always seen how Meryl looked at him, and it killed him because he always fought like each fight was his last and some day, he expected one to be.

"Meryl, Mr. Vash, let's go!" Millie cried from the passenger side of a car.

"Where'd you get the car?"

"You rather ride a Toma?" Meryl replied, raising an eyebrow.

"GAH NO!" Vash put his hands up in front of him, "Anything but Toma, those things don't like me." He shuddered at the thought of having to ride one of those giant kiwi shaped beasts. Meryl chuckled at him and got into the driver's seat while Vash got in the back.

The whole trip was quiet. Meryl was too busy driving, the Millie didn't really have anything to say, and Vash was thinking about Knives. He remembered when he had first heard about New Arlington 5 days ago in Ripmela. It was only sheer luck that Meldrek and New Arlington were near each other. There was one more thing that troubled him also. There were rumors that a plant had given birth somewhere. If that were true and Knives heard about it…no, Vash shook his head. He had been alive for over 150 years and had never heard of a plant having a child since Knives and himself, but still…

"We're here." Meryl announced after almost 3 hours. Vash looked ahead to see a campsite set up just outside the town. There were also a bunch of large trucks and vans parked around.

"Must be the clean up crew and people come to find friends and family." Meryl nodded as she parked amongst some cars.

The town was crawling with government workers and civilians, each one wearing a mask to filter out the air and smell. I was quiet as well. The voices of the workers were muffled and occasionally someone was heard wailing as they found a body the recognized.

"Hey! Everyone has to wear a mask!" A woman came up to them carrying some in each hand. "It's a requirement here because of all the bacteria in the air and the smell." She handed the masks to them. "Thanks, we were wondering where to get these actually."

"Just try to stay up wind if you can and the bodies are arranged by the block they live on." She walked away. Vash turned to the girls.

"You two can stay here if you want. There's no point in making you guys suffer through it all

"And who's going to keep you out of trouble?"

"How much trouble can I get into? The place only has corpses and coroners." She gave him a look.

"Fine, but if I hear one thing that's out of place, we're leaving." Vash grinned, put on his mask and walked off.

He looked around. Rows of blankets vaguely outlined what was underneath. He sighed.

'_Knives usually will send them out into the desert.'_ The wind tugged on Vash's long red coat, _'He was in a hurry. The shapes under the blankets, they're not as grotesque as they could be. But that raises another question, why? What would make Knives in such a rush that he had to kill them like this?'_ Vash's face was grim under the mask, _'I need to find out.'_

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Meryl asked as she stirred her coffee. The trio had returned, and was now in a cafe eating.

"Not really. I just ended up with more questions." Vash murmered as he munched on a donut.

"I'm sure that whatever you're looking for will show up soon Mr. Vash!" Millie said cheerfully. Vash opened his mouth to reply but a certain presence stopped him. _'Knives.'_ He jumped up and ran out the door. Vash couldn't see Knives but he felt a smirk inside his head.

_"Knives..." _

_"Hello Vash. I was passing by and though I'd come see you."_

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"Vash, I'm hurt. Do I really need a reason to come see my little brother?"_ A bus passed by and in the dust cloud, Knives became visible. Vash wondered when he had gained so much power so quickly. It wasn't until the dust settled that he saw the girl holding his hand and his jaw dropped.

_"When the hell did you become a dad!?"_ Vash mentally yelled, subconsciously pointing at his brother.

_"She's not my child you idiot, she's our sister!"_

_"Are you serious!? That was true OH MY GOD!!"_ Knives looked at him like he was a stupid monkey.

_"You didn't think it was possible, dear brother? We had to have come into this world in some way."_

_"Yeah but," _he rubbed the back of his head and shrugged, _"that was over a hundred years ago."_

_"Doesn't it matter? We already know it's possible, what's so hard to believe?" _

_"I guess... I guess it's, she's the first since us."_

_"Vash, we're an endangered species. The human race is killing us off one by one and we have to do something to defend ourselves. If you want to race to die out then continue on with your pacifistic crap!" _Knives coldly turned his back and walked away.

_"Knives I- Knives wait!"_

"Look it's Vash the Stampede!"

"Vash it's time to go!" He didn't move, he was watching Knives and the girl walk away. Millie managed to drag him away and by time he looked back both of them were gone.


	4. sterile gown

"Welcome back master. While you were gone we-"

"I know. I've talked to him." Knives answered bluntly. He wasn't in the mood right now. He headed in as Andrea looked up at Legato. He had sensed her coming but didn't expect her to be a child.

"Welcome Mistress." He bowed to her. Child or not she was still a higher being, an equal to Knives.

"Andrea." Knives called tersely, she scrambled after him, "Legato, tell the others that they are to stay away from my student. I _will_ be monitoring them."

"Yes master."

Inside Knives showed Andrea where she could find him and where her room was.

"You are not to go anywhere with myself, Legato, or someone I've sent for you understand? It's too dangerous for you to be out by yourself right now." She nodded. "Good, your training will begin shortly." With that Knives left her in her room.

As Andrea looked her new room over she compared it to the other room she had been forced to live in. This room had warm brown/green walls instead of blinding white and wood paneling covered the lower half of the walls. It was bigger by at least half and there was actually stuff in it. There was an empty bookcase, a table and chair, a dresser and a night stand...wow. The bed seemed pretty big in her eyes and, upon sitting on it, much more comfortable. Next to the bookcase an open entryway led to a bathroom, toilet, shower, everything; just for her.

She walked across the room to an opaque door. It was surrounded by curtains the same color as the wall trimmed in gold. She opened the odd portal and stepped onto the balcony. It was 25 feet on both sides. She looked down and stretching her neck she could follow the wall about 40 feet passed the building to outline part of the courtyard. There was no one else on the balcony for the moment so what harm would it do to look around?

"Mistress, Master is ready for you." Legato stood at her door. His dark blue hair covered one of his golden yellow eyes. She sighed and followed him down the hallway.

The house itself was dressed in soothing colors and, had it been anyone else living there, would have a feeling of caring and happiness, but instead there was an underlying feeling of darkness and blood lust. Looking at Legato she could tell that it wasn't coming from him. He had a feeling of loyalty flowing about him and it wasn't from Knives either. Knives' feeling was anger and revenge with a slight hint of pain.

Legato stopped after he had led Andrea into Knives' office. Knives waved Legato away and he bowed before leaving. Andrea looked around the office; the door had been shut during the tour. Red was the primary color here. Everything had red on it somehow, even the desk which was made of a reddish brown wood.

Knives looked out a window for a few moments before even acknowledging Andrea's presence.

"Andrea, your part to save our race starts now." He walked back over to the desk and studied it for a moment. "The first thing you should know is that the humans created us. Centuries ago on their home planet Earth, they created a being that would provide them with the resources they long ago depleted. Air, water, light, even their own food, was used up in greed so they created us. At first they were careful but as they found out what we could do, their greed corrupted them. More of us were created to satisfy that greed but it wasn't enough, the humans always wanted more. They lived off us always thinking about themselves and never of the repercussions! But now, if one of us dies the humans can not just simply make another. We are a dying race Andrea." He turned to her, "You have extraordinary powers. I can teach you how to use them. Together we can stop the humans and free our sisters."

Andrea looked down at the courtyard. There were only a handful of people milling about. They were unloading supplies. Knives had them come about once a month so the humans in the neighboring town wouldn't start wondering and start snooping around. Andrea didn't know what there was worth hiding but she accepted it nonetheless, Knives had his ways.

After three months she learned that Knives and Legato weren't the only ones living in the mansion with her. Knives was getting a group together that would equal a small army. It was this mini-army that was producing the background feeling of darkness. She didn't know why Knives had such a group of people but from the way he talked, they were part of his plan to get rid of the humans. Only once had she even seen a member of that group. She was with Legato on her way back from training when a man in a dark suit walked by carrying a saxophone. She later learned that his name was Mid-valley and that his weapon of choice was sound.

Turning back to the task Knives had given her, she sighed. The exercise was simple enough; she had to take control of a human body. It was to see how strong her mental powers were getting, but she was bored and decided to do something different. She made the body's hands move up and down as in a talking motion then tucked the hands up under the armpits and flapped the arms. The corpse's butt wiggled before the hands clapped together. Knives frowned at the display but Andrea giggled making the dead body do it again. She did the same thing throughout the whole duration of the exercise. There was a long pause before he spoke.

"That was…very good Andrea." He didn't approve of the display but she had proven how strong her powers were currently. "We're done for the day." Andrea nodded with a sigh and turned for the office door. "Is there a problem?" Knives was standing next to her now, ready to escort her to room. She shook her head quickly, Knives was a scary man when he was angry. He raised an eyebrow at her and headed down the hallway. Andrea followed behind quietly, wishing she was still training or at least had something to do once training was over. Her bookcase was still empty and her room and bathroom were completely spotless from all the times she's cleaned them.

Andrea went straight to the balcony as soon as she got to her room. Watching from the balcony was the only way she could keep herself entertained but today there weren't any people to watch so instead she watched the wind carry the desert sand. On the horizon, sand worms rose up out of the ground and dove back in.

After what felt like ages Andrea noticed some movement in the corner of her eye. Two human men were coming around the corner of the mansion riding two odd looking animals. They stopped outside the wall and started talking though they were too far away to be heard. One man looked up and saw her then pointed her out to his partner. Right away they both kicked their animals and headed for the courtyard in the back. The humans didn't look dangerous but they gave Andrea an ominous feeling.

She ran to the part of the balcony that overlooked the open space. It was the beginning of the month and the humans from the town next door were doing the usual routine of unpacking crates and bags of supplies for the month. She didn't know if Knives or Legato knew of the men or their intentions but if they did, considering their outlook on the humans, they didn't care.

She arrived at the same time as the two on the weird beasts and saw them pull something from their waists. Almost immediately the air filled with horrendous noise and some of the people fell to the ground. Andrea heard shouts coming from the attackers, something about betrayal and evil monsters. She had no idea what they were talking about.

Those who survived the attack and were able to move went inside as fast as they could, leaving the yard empty. Neither Knives nor Legato had appeared yet and the other humans were going inside. On impulse she went into their heads to try and stop them. She hadn't taken over a live human before much less two and their minds were full of rage making it even harder for her.

The human men noticed her intrusion and fought back. One slowly looked around the courtyard then up at the balcony. He said something then pointed a shiny looking object up at Andrea. She called upon more of her power, like Knives had taught her, as she tried to get complete control. Where were Knives and Legato at?

It seemed like hours before she vaguely felt Knives' presence behind her. Finally she could let go and rest. Andrea would have fallen to the floor if Knives hadn't caught her by the arm. Below, the armed men had a brief period of freedom before they brutally killed each other.

"_Master, is Mistress all right?" _Legato was standing below, where the humans had just been.

"_She's fine Legato, she's just tired." _Knives held her up as he helped her back to her room.

"You did well. Not only did you stop those humans, but you also showed clear, quick, thinking." To her, Knives seemed happy. Not happy in the cold hearted killer way that was usual for him but in a way she couldn't explain. It made Andrea feel light at heart as well. Knives set her down on something soft and it took her a moment to realize it was her bed. She was told to rest and left alone.


	5. Intend to find out

Okay here's the deal, **I got a laptop! Yay!! **Thing is, I realized that I had put Wolfwood in **_WAY_** to early. So in conjunction with merging all the tiny chapters into 5 regular sized ones,** I ALSO EDITED WOLFWOOD OUT.** So if you want to go back and re-read it that's fine, I fixed some other minor problems like spelling and grammar. It's up to you. ENJOY I DON'T KNOW WHEN I'M GETTING THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT. Probably when I have enough for one...

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_The strongest sense of death that she had felt so far awoke Andrea. A colorless plain stretched before her and the grass crunched to dust beneath her as she stood. She didn't know how she got there but she wanted to go back to the mansion. _

_Her feet moved as if they had a mind of their own and presently she came to a building. It sat alone, a derelict on the sea. What wasn't colored reddish-brown had a thick layer of dust and she hoped she wasn't the only one there but then again she did, who knows what can jump out and eat her? _

_The farther she walked the colder the air got, to the point that her breath preceded her in little clouds. She felt like she had been here before, but she was sure she would have remembered if she had._

_A familiar object forced her to stop. She was near the entrance of a large room looking up at a plant containment chamber. The reason she had recognized everything was because this had once been a plant research facility._

_The room was dim but not to the point where she couldn't see the dark smear on the bottom of the chamber. In the back of her mind she knew what it was, what it meant, but up front it had not yet made an impact. It wasn't until something shifted. Something brought to light the plant lying dead at the bottom of the containment chamber._

_Andrea reeled. How could the humans do such a thing? It didn't matter if they didn't kill her themselves they still left her to die. How could they do such a thing? It wasn't right. They shouldn't do such a thing. She shouldn't have suffered like that. _

Vash bolted upright and shivered even though the campfire was burning brightly. He pulled the blanket tight around himself and shivered again. It was useless though it wasn't the cold he was shivering from; something in the air had just shifted dangerously.

Andrea woke up late the next day. She knew she had been dreaming but she couldn't remember what about. She also awoke with a dislike to humans. She mulled over it as she went into the bathroom. Why did she not like humans all of a sudden? It didn't make any sense. Were Knives' teachings finally starting to sink in? She shook her head. No, that wasn't it. She had a strong feeling that whatever she had dreamed about was the cause of her sudden change of heart. So what was her dream about? The more she thought of it the less she could remember and it drove her nuts.

Legato was waiting for Andrea when she came out and there was food on the table too. She gave him a look of contempt as she sat down to eat. It surprised her really, she had never looked at Legato in any negative way before and she looked from the corner of her eye to see if he was going to retaliate, but he either did not notice her look or decided not to do anything about it.

"I have been ordered to inform you that Master Knives will not be able to train you today. He left yesterday shortly after the incident and it is unknown when he will be back." Andrea just nodded, still trying to figure what was going on with her. If only she could remember what her dream was about.

She didn't notice when Legato left and she didn't really care. She walked out to the balcony and lied out in the sun. She thought maybe if she didn't think about it, her dream would come to her. That's usually the way things worked after all, if you're trying to remember something, it'll stay buried at the bottom of your head underneath all the thoughts. It'll only come out if you stop looking for it and it thinks it's safe.

She didn't know how long she had been there when she decided to see how far her telepathic abilities could go. First were the people in the courtyard, finishing up what had been hurriedly left the day before. That part was easy, she already knew she could do that. The next part was the town nearby. She slowly inched her way forward. It wasn't far by car, only about 20 minutes, but for someone new to this type of power it seemed like hours. She barely touched one mind about three-quarters of the way there and she smiled when she came to the far side.

Andrea felt like she could keep going and did so. She kept on stretching her mind out a few iles at a time. Her confidence was on high. She reached a town in the opposite direction and twice as far. She kept going. Three more towns and two cities, the last being 500 iles away. She could have kept going but it was dark and she was hungry.


	6. Height to Anything Else

I'M SSOO SORRY!! I completely forgot to check for chapters and it's been 2 months!! Please forgive me!! grovels on the ground Here are 2 brand new chapters straight from the box. I know what you're thinking, "Why did she only get 2 chapters done in 2 months"? I've been lazy that's why, but I promise you that I have most of chapter 8 done, I just have to finish it. ALSO, the part about the "Gate" and stuff still needs improvement and I'm trying to work on that. Some of the Wolfwood scenes I'm working on making better as well so please don't complain!! TT

I do NOT own trigun, though I wish I did for Vash would be mine and (anime)Knives and I would take over the world!!! insert evil laughter here

* * *

Knives smiled. He had felt the shift in the air at the same time Vash had. He knew what it meant. Andrea had finally decided to see things his way, or at least start to. He wondered what had changed her mind and made a note to ask when he returned. Right now he was away on business. He had heard rumors of a man that supposedly had nine lives and was a cold-blooded killer, a perfect addition to his army. 

He walked through a crowd of people, scanning minds for information about the person he was looking for. None of them knew, they were all thinking about themselves, money, or material possessions. It was pathetic. These people live their lives in greed, and personal gain, but they never realize how dangerous it is to do so. They'll just end up destroying themselves.

Knives continued to search for the entire day, constantly keeping a mental ear open. He learned that the name of the person he was looking for was Grey the Nine lives. He was beginning to think that the information he had gotten on Grey's Location was wrong when a boy wearing a poncho stepped out in front of him.

"You're looking for Nine Lives right? I know where he is." The kid looked maybe no more than 10, but there was something different about him.

"Tell me."

"I will on one condition, you take me with you as well."

Knives scowled. "Why should I do that?" He wasn't in the mood for games and he wanted to get back to Andrea to support her new hatred of humans. The boy grinned impishly.

"Oh, we can be a great help to you." What looked like a mosquito came out from under his eyelid. Knives grinned. He understood what was going on. Plants weren't the only higher beings living on this planet. He looked down at the little bug.

"So you can control humans can you?"

"We must find a body that is suitable, but yes, we can control any host." Knives nodded as the mosquito thing reentered the eyelid.

"Well then, take me to this man who has nine lives."

* * *

A few more months went by and Andrea grew stronger. In just under a year she learned complete control of her mental powers and she excelled with her physical ablilities as well. 

"Your flow is impressive, though it's only slightly larger than mine." Knives had said to her one day as she was manifesting the "flow". He hadn't told her much about it but she figured he meant the flow of her physical powers. He also reffered to something called a "gate" but she didn't know what that was and she didn't really care. She preferred her mental powers a lot more.

She looked at her arm as she finished the exercise. Her arm was an intricate looking form of some sort. It was one of the better manifestations she had done, but only because she was trying. Like everything else, this had become boring. She knew how to do it, so what was the point in still training? Why couldn't they just move on to the next step?

"You're not ready that's why. Just because you know how to use your powers doesn't mean that your ready. Besides, I am trying to get Vash to join us. This will be my last attempt and if he doesn't..." He left it up in the air.

Andrea didn't get it. If Vash was a plant like them, then why did he like humans so much? What did they ever do to get him to like them? As hard as she might, she could never think of a reason why. It was baffeling so she finally asked Knives. He looked disgusted as he told her about Rem, the woman that raised them, and how Vash grew to be so fond of her. He told her about the other members of the SEEDS crew. He told her how he managed to kill them all off. First Steve the drunk, then Mary, Rowen, Joey, most of the human race. He had planned for all of them, but Rem went back to try to fix the navigation system and she ended up dieing when the mother ship blew up. Obviously she had succeded in doing so because here the humans were today.

She had gone back to her room to think about Knives' answer and decided that she didn't like Vash. It didn't matter what one human did, it was humans as a whole that were evil and one couldn't make up for everyone. 'Course, it was the other way around, her feelings might be different, but it wasn't and she was glad. She couldn't picture herself liking humans, even the thought just made her shudder with disgust.

She went out onto the balcony later that day. It was a good vantage spot for her because she could play with any humans in the courtyard. She couldn't kill them of course, that would make the neighboring town suspicious which in turn would make Knives mad. She never wanted to get Knives mad, whether she was more powerful or not. Him mad was just down right scary. She suddered at that thought too.

There was no one downstairs today, no body except for Knive's mini army anyway. Shortly after Knives finished gathering up his army he started sending them out on missions. None of them came back except for one. From what she understood though, that one was special. His mission wasn't to fight Vash, but to lead him here. To make sure he didn't get himself killed since apparently Vash was prone to getting in trouble. She smiled, he was on his way here now actually. What was his name again, Wolfwood?

Andrea waited for him on the balcony at the front of the house. She was allowed to walk around by herself now, which included downstairs as well, but she preffered the height of the balcony to anything else.


	7. She's Just a Kid

Wolfwood sighed. He was going back to Knives' mansion to get orders from him. Vash had disappeared so he needed to know what to do, besides find him of course. He shuddered thinking about the mansion. The girl would be there, Andrea. Knives' little pet, his protege. The girl creeped him out just as much if not more than Knives' did. She always smiled so warmly at him, but it was just like Vash's sort of. Vash smiled to hide his pain, but Andrea did it to hide the fact she wanted to kill you. He didn't know what Knives did, but whatever it was, it worked.

He had heard rumors about her on his previous vists to the mansion but he didn't really believe them. _'I mean c'mon, she's just a kid right?' _Mid-valley was the first to warn him about her. He had said that she was at least a powerful as Knives if not more, and that most of the other members were afraid of her.

The last part mad him a bit dubious. The Gung-Ho-Guns, as Knives had choosen to call his little army, was a group of blood thirsty killers. Mass murder was something they would do for fun. How could a little girl intimidate them so much? It had to be a lie, it was probably Knives they were afraid of. He was the one with the power, if he said not to touch the girl then they wouldn't. Well, they would try anyway. No one could completely stop a Gung-Ho-Gun.

As Wolfwood's motorcylce came closer to the mansion, he saw Mid-Valley a few yards from the mansion waiting for him. He pulled up to Mid-Valley wondering what's going on.

"Hey, what's up?" Wolfwood asked, putting the bike in neutral.

"It's Andrea. I know you don't believe what I've been telling you. Hell, I wouldn't either. But I just thought you should know, she almost killed Grey. I don't know what it was exactly, but he did something to piss her off. I thought Knives was gonna have to beat her with a stick to get her to stop."

"Grey!? Are you serious? He's a big guy how could she take him down." Wolfwood lit a cigarette.

"I'm telling you, we're working with monsters. Only monsters can have that kind of power."

"It's not like there's anything we can do about." He took a drag, "There's no one that can stand up to that kind of power."

Mid-Valley gave him the most serious look Wolfwood's ever seen. "There's one person who can."

Wolfwood sighed, he knew who Mid-Valley was talking about, but there was only one problem with that suggestion.

"Yeah, but he's missing right now. I'm lookin' for him but it might take a while. He's a tricky guy, if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be."

"And if you're after someone, you always catch them."

Wolfwood didn't answer, he just threw his cigarette butt on the ground and drove off. _'I don't always catch what I chase.'_ He shuddered suddenly then. He had a feeling someone was watching him. He instictively looked up at the balcony. Andrea was standing there watching him. _'Great.'_ he thought, _'the brat's watching me.' _

He headed for the door with a sigh. Since Vash had gone missing, he knew he had to find him of course, but somethings had changed. Which meant the orders would probably change. His fingers twitched. He wouldn't be doing this if it hadn't been for Knives. Knives some how found out about him and of course what Knives wants, Knives gets. It doesn't matter what he has to do to get it.

_'Those kids have a right to have a chance to grow up. I'm not gonna let Knives take it from them. Damn it Spikey, where the hell are you?' _His thoughts were replaced by the familiar sound of a motorcylce engine. He growled and turned expecting one of the others messing with his baby. He ended up jumping out of the way of the thing. The sand settled and he saw that no one was riding it. _'What the hell?'_ Heard a giggle from above,_ 'The damn brat, so she really does have some sort of power.' _He dodged out of the way again. _'If she's anything like Knives, she's playing with me.' _He tried to make a break for the front door but the bike cut him off. He pulled a gun out and shot at the wheels. There was a noticable difference in the bike's speed, it was slower as it tried to run him again. Again he went to jump out of the way there was just one problem. _'That damn brat!! She won't let me move!'_ Just as the bike was going to run him over, someone started playing a saxaphone and the bike exploded.

"MY ANGELINA!" Wolfwood cried as he stared at the burning remains. The only thing intact was his giant cross, though there were scorch marks on it and the cover was burned off. Mid-Valley looked at him with a "Didn't I tell you?" look as he walked passed. Wolfwood looked at the smoking hulk of metal bits with a sigh, so much for Angelina. And he had spent so much time on her too. He gave a quick prayer to his beloved motorcycle and went inside. Andrea had dissappeared somwhere, probably to cause more trouble.

"I'm growing tired of Legato's game. Find Vash and bring him here." Knives looked irritated as he spoke, something must have gotten him mad. It might have been Andrea. She's a kid and kids always seemed to get under his skin. Unless it was a kid that was like him, an orphan. For some reason he always had a soft spot for poor kids.

He turned to leave, the meeting was shorted than he thought it would be.

"And Wolfwood, I expect you to behave. I can destroy that entire church with one thought." It almost sounded like Knives enjoyed saying that. Wolfwood grunted in response and left. That was it, he had to find Vash, if it cost him his life. Vash was the only one to stop this- as Mid-Valley put it, monster. He just hoped that Knives' plan didn't hinge on the brat. If it did, they were all in deep shit.


	8. How Many Ways

Yeah I know I skip 2 years but like I said some things are still being ironed out. I hope you enjoy this next chapter and if things are getting dry please tell me so I can fix it. I don't want to lose the few readers I have. Please please write reviews, I don't really have that much confidence in my writing, so if I think something is considered bad I won't work on it anymore. I'm pretty sure you don't want that to happen right?

Thanks to Skavnema for replying back to my message about her review. It totally made me feel special! Keep an eye out we are in the planning stages of a joint fanfic...

P.S. I don't own Trigun but I wish I did own Nightow Kami-sama.

* * *

Two more years passed and Wolfwood kept hearing more and more rumors about Andrea. Thankfully he had a good lead on Vash. He had heard some men talking the other day about a friend's blond haired grandson who was covered in scars and had a passion for getting in trouble. That was Vash to the letter, but there was one problem, the town where he was at had been taken over by, and this is where he had burst out laughing, none other than Vash the Stampede. 

He was on his way there now, but first he had to make a pit stop. He had to get Andrea away from Knives, the future of everyone depended on it. But how was he going to do it? He had no way stop Andrea if she decided to fight back. Hell, even just Legato could stop him. He had to think of away to get her out and not get killed. He shrugged and decided to figure that out when he got back to the mansion.

The mansion loomed up ahead. No one came to meet him, which was a plus. It was quiet though, which disturbed him. There should be people running around like ants right now. Headquaters hadn't moved, he would have been notified of that something was going on.

"You're not supposed to be here Wolfwood." Mid-Valley didn't look too happy as he came into the front room. Wolfwood lit a cigarette.

"They've gone out for a few weeks to Little Idaho. The left _her_ here though. Since he's not here to stop her, we're being "good." As in not bothering _her._" From the way he sounded, one would think Mid-Valley didn't like Andrea. Wolfwood gave him a side long glance.

"Well in that case, you didn't see me here." Wolfwood exhaled a cloud of smoke. His companion gave him a look as he took another drag. "Look, just stay out of this and in case something happens..." Mid-valley nodded, he knew when to stay out.

Wolfwood went up stairs, he didn't know what room was her but it didn't matter. She would find him. He sighed and started grumbling.

"Why do I have to bring the damn brat? I have to find Needle Noggin." He thought it was best to act the part. He said a few choice words under his breath and if on cue Andrea appeared in the hallway. Wolfwood felt a cold chill. He hoped she wouldn't see through his lie, else he would be meeting God sooner than he expected. He also hoped she didn't know the way to Little Idaho.

"Hey, Knives sent me to come get you for some reason or another. Andrea didn't do anything. She studied him for a few long, agonizing seconds.

_'Damn it, she doesn't believe me and I'm gonna get killed. Damn you Knives.'_ It was probably good to think the part too. Andrea stepped forward as non-threateningly as she could. Wolfwood let out a mental sigh of relief, she believed him, for now.

Wolfwood didn't have any transportation of his own, so they had to walk to town where he got them bus tickets. They had to transfer twice and thankfully Andrea didn't do anything during the trip. But the further they got from the mansion, the more edgy Wolfwood got about keeping her happy.

As they got off the third bus, a crowd of people flocked around it trying to get out of the city. Someone poor soul mentioned "Vash and his gang" which of course got Wolfwood's attention. He checked into a hotel.

"It seems a bit dangerous for kid around here, maybe you should stay. I have to get some information, it shouldn't take too long." Wolfwood said around an unlit cigarette. He knew full well that she could take care of herself, but when dealing with Vash, some things were better left surprises.

Andrea nodded and sat on the bed. She knew very well that he was lying, and that he wasn't going to take her to Knives, but he intriged her. Why would he go to such great lengths to get her out of the mansion? She was curious so she went with him.

Wolfwood left after lighting his cigarette. She went to the window to watch him. He went inside a cafe right as the bus exploded. She wondered what that was about. She looked down at the people. She noticed a short, fat man with a cannon on his arm, a dark energy was surrounding him. She smiled and looked some more. A tall blonde with long hair and a short girl walked by across the street. She gave cannon boy a small gentle nudge and watched him approach the the girl. There was a brief exchange and the girl kicked him in the face. The tall one grabbed her and ran into the same place as Wolfwood.

She watched for awhile, cannon boy blew the cafe up, he was holding some guy hostage. It looked like a few more words were exchanged and the blonde walked out holding his hands up. A few seconds later he stripped his clothes off and started acting like a dog. Andrea's eyes went wide. The blonde's entire body was covered with deep scars.

Andrea's anger grew. She knew who the blonde was, she had seen him before, and Knives talked about him quite often. How could Vash let them do this to him? How could he want to save the humans with all the pain they've caused him. She left the window to figure out how many different ways she could kill the townspeople.


	9. Alone Again

YAY!!! I finally got Chapter 9 out after a writer's block at the very end. I wrote the last paragraph or so in writing class today, which led me to remind you that this is an on going project for writing class.

As for that project between me a Skavnema (did i spell it right? "), I just have to get off my lazy but and do some slight editing, like typos and stuff. Other than that, it's gonna be in it's gonna be posted just like we wrote it.

* * *

"WHHAAAA-!?!? AND YOU LEFT HER ALONE!?" Vash yelled as he, Wolfwood, and Lina, one of the people he had been staying with; walked back to town. The guy that made Vash strip down like a dog, ended up being the head of a group that had the town under seige. Lina had been kidnapped so Vash and Wolfwood went to save her. The preist had just told Vash that he had Andrea with him.

"What else was I supposed to do!? Bring her with us!?"

"It would have been better then leaving her alone!"

"What!? Are you kidding me Needle Noggin?"

"Do you have any idea what she could do if she's left alone? She was raised by Knives for crying out loud!"

"She's a kid, how much damage can she do? What?" Vash was giving him a "how stupid can you be?" look. Wolfwood grumbled and lit a cigarette. Vash bent down to face Lina. She was only 12 after all.

"Lina, go tell Grandma that you're all right. I have to talk with Wolfwood for a little while. I'll be back this evening okay?" He smiled warmly at her as she nodded and ran off. Vash watched her go and then turned back to Wolfwood.  
"How the hell did you get Knives to let her come with you!?"

"Yeah, about that..." Wolfwood said rubbing his head, "He doesn't really know that she's gone."

"YOU KIDNAPPED HER!?" Some of the people turned their heads towards them.

"Shut up Needle Noggin!" the priest hissed, "I had to do somethin'! With her, he has you out numbered."

"Well where is she!?" The sooner he got to her the sooner Vash could keep her from doing something horrendous. Wolfwood took a drag from his cigarette and headed for the hotel. Vash followed with a sigh, he thought he had felt something through the chaos.

Andrea was waiting for them when they entered the room Wolfwood had gotten. Vash smiled nervously and put his hands up innocently. "Now now, don't do anything too hasty. I know Knives had taught you that humans are bad but you've only really been looking at one side." Andrea glared at him, so this actually was Vash. She had eventually remembered that dream she had that had changed her, and she showed it to him now. That though, made Vash even more insistant. "Please! Let me show you their other side first! Let me show you so you know both sides before making a decision! Please I beg you."

Wolfwood stood in the door watching, _'Damn, she must be pretty strong if Spiky's begging.' _He looked up at the ceiling and blew some smoke out, _'God, did I do the right thing?' _He looked over at Andrea who looked like she was ready to blow. She crossed her arms and looked away angry. Vash whooped, he would get his way.

"Don't worry Andrea, I won't disapoint you." Vash smiled at her gratefully.

"Oh shi- Spiky what about the insurance girls?"

"What abou-" A look of dread came over Vash's face as he realized what Wolfwood was talking about. He looked at Andrea. _'Oh no. Meryl will kill me for having a kid with me and Millie will be all over her...' _He knew he was going to have to meet up with the girls again. It was inevitable after all. As he tried to come up with a plan Wolfwood put a hand on his shoulder.

"Go back to Granny's house and think about things. I'm gonna be leaving in about 4 days."

"What do you mean you're leaving!?"

"I'm goin' to that town."

"Don't leave me with her!" Vash cried before realizing what he said and giving Andrea a nervous smile. Wolfwood turned to leave.

"I didn't say you had to stay here." Vash looked at the priest's retreating back, then at Andrea.

"Oh man why me!?" He yelled, "Wolfwood wait!" Vash ran out after him.

Andrea sighed, alone again. She flopped down on the bed. She really shouldn't be giving Vash this chance. She only said yes to get him to shut up. Oh well, in the end the humans will still die.


	10. Mistakes of the Past

It was some time later when the two boys came back. Andrea sat there at a small table eating. Neither man questioned where she had gotten the food, they knew she had her ways. Wolfwood sighed and chewed on the butt of his unlit cigarette. Vash took a deep breath.

"Andrea...We've um... Ow what was that for!?" The latter was directed at the priest who gave Vash a look.

"You're going to stay at Granny's house with Vash while we're here." he said, turning back to Andrea.

"We thought it best if your exposure to humans was limited for right now."

"We, Needle Noggin?"

"You're included in this too you know Wolfwood." That of course sparked an argument. Andrea watched with slight amusement. If they really wanted to limit her exposure to humans, they wouldn't let her out of the room. She looked back at them, the yelling was getting on her nerves now.

"-CARE OF A KID!!" Vash yelled in the sudden silence. He looked around, Wolfwood was giving Andrea a death glare. She in turn was glaring right back. "Andrea, let him go." When there was no response he tried again. "I'll give you a cookie." She turned her glare to Vash, what was she five? "Come on, he can't be all that bad." There was noise from Wolfwood's direction that made it sound like he was growling. Vash chuckled nervously, "No offense Wolfwood. Andrea pppllleeeaaassseee..." There was a flash of something in Andrea's eyes before her prisioner fell to the floor. Oh God, anything to keep Vash from begging.

Wolfwood jumped up, "You didn't have to push me you know!!" Vash jumped in front of him.

"Now now Wolfwood I'm sure it was just accident. You don't need to pick a fight with her."

"This is the second time she's messed with me! I've had enough, I'm teachin' her a lesson!" Andrea looked at him as he tried to get by Vash and calmly went back to eating her food.

"Lemme at her!!"

"Wolfwood! Wolfwood stop she's just a kid! Ow!" A stray hand had whacked Vash in the nose. Wolfwood took the opening but found that he couldn't move...again.

"God damn it!!" He was only feet from taking revenge on Andrea. Vash winced as he held his nose.

"Andrea...I think we should go." She looked at him, wanting to play with her toy some more. Vash made sure his nose wasn't bleeding before running a hand through his long hair. "He'll be here tomorrow." He said with a small smile. He was right though, Andrea read Wolfwood's mind, and even though he was plotting his revenge, he was planning on leaving when he said he was. She finished her food then went to the door. She didn't let go of Wolfwood until they had left the building. She was almost suprised that he didn't run out after her.

Vash sighed in his head. He had to figure out how to get Andrea to change her mind, but he wasn't completely sure how. The best way was probably to show her just how kind the humans were. It wouldn't be too hard to do that, he just had to keep her from killing the humans he pointed out.

He watched Andrea look at the people, a look of disgust on her face. It would a take awhile for him to change her mind, he just hoped that he could change her mind, or if he could, had the time to. He took a breath, sooner rather than later he supposed.

"Andrea, I know that Knives has taught you that the humans are bad, that they destroyed their own planet and they use our kind with no remorse. And while that's true to some extent, I believe the humans should be given a second chance. If we help them, they won't make the mistakes of the past again." Andrea looked up at him. She knew about human history, and they were constantly repeating themselves. She didn't see why this would be any different.

"Granny, I'm home." Vash called as he lead Andrea into the living room. An old, stocky woman came, hurriedly, out of the kitchen.

"Ericks! I'm so glad you're all right. I was worried about you."

"I'm fine. It'll take a lot more than that to get rid of me." Vash grinned.

"Oh Ericks..."

"Granny," Lina poked her head out of the kitchen, "dinner's rea- who's that?" She had spotted Andrea, who was standing just behind Vash.

"Yeah, about that..." Vash started, he turned so both women could see. "This is Andrea, a...friend's daughter. I gotta watch her for a little while."

"You mean the priest's?" Lina asked, walking over to the rest of them.

"NO! No, not his." He answered quickly, "He just brought her." _'Thank God she's not his kid.'_

"It's very nice to meet you Andrea." Granny smiled, "I'm sorry you first day here had to be such a bad one. Though with that wretched man gone I'm sure things'll get better." Vash shot a glance at Lina, who shook her head. She hadn't told Granny about his true identity.

"Where is she going to sleep? Ericks has the only guest bedroom."

"She can sleep with you Lina. After all, you both look to be about the same age." Granny turned to go back to the kitchen so dinner could be served. Vash did some finger calulations, Andrea would be fourteen in human years. He quickly followed behind Granny to go help. Lina smiled at Andrea before she too left to eat.

Andrea frowned, she already didn't like these people. Yes, they had been genuinly worried and cared for Vash, but there was just something about them. They were..._too_ caring she supposed. It almost seemed fake to her, but she had read their minds and it was truly what they felt. She thought she was going to be sick.

"Andrea, are you coming?" Lina's voice broke through her thoughts. She glared at the other girl and headed for where the others were.

Andrea layed in her makeshift bed trying to figure out what the good in humans was. The group that had held the town hostage was only a prime example as to why the humans should be wiped out. They had shown bloodlust, and regular lust, as well as the ever present greed that drove just about every human decision. So what were their good qualities again?

She sighed and glared as Lina groaned and tossed in her bed. She was having a nightmare about the inccident. Andrea rolled her eyes, if she had been in Lina's position, she would have fought back. The girl was stupid for not trying.

"Ericks..." Lina mumbled. Andrea growled, this girl was keeping her up. She could have done something, could have made the go away, but that would require her being nice to Lina, and there was no way she was going to be _nice_ to a human. At least, not in the way Vash would approve.

With a grin she slipped into Lina's mind, searching for the part controlling the dream. She found it, and waited. She also spread out to another key spot, a slight mental pressure to this one, and Lina would wake. After a while of shakey monitoring, Andrea sensed that the time was right, and woke Lina. She was "being nice" but it was more for personal gain than anything else.

Lina gasped as she shot up straight. She had been dreaming of the day before. She had been so scared when Vash had been shot, even more so when she was kidnapped trying to help him. She took a breath to steady herself. Things were all right now, Vash was fine and in just in the next room over. She sighed, the townspeople wouldn't stand having Vash the Stampede in their town for long. They'd try to run him out, or catch him, or...worse. It wouldn't matter how well they knew him as Ericks. She felt a lump form in her throat and fought it back. It would hurt having him leave, he had grown so close to her.

She looked around the room, and faintly flushed when her eyes landed on Andrea. She had forgotten that the girl was there. She wiped her eyes and took another breath.

"Did I you wake up?" She asked quietly. Her answer was a brief stare before Andrea layed down, turning her back to her. Lina sighed, Vash has said at dinner that Andrea wasn't one for words, even though she did have the ability to speak. Lina sighed and went back to sleep.


	11. Haircut Anytime

"Lina, you've been moping around ever since the incident," Granny said a few days later, "why don't you go and get some groceries? It might raise your spirits."

"Andrea can help you carry them too." Vash suggested. If looks could kill, he would have died two minutes ago. Andrea did not want to go shopping especially not with some human. "C'mon Andi, it'll be fun. You might learn something." Vash said the latter with a bit of a sing-song voice. Andrea growled, she hated it when he called her that, it was just as bad as him begging, and he knew that, that's why he did it.

In response she went back to her book. It was full of short stories and poems, and she had just started a story called "The Masque of the Red Death." She looked up again when she felt a mental poke. It was Vash of course, asking her to go because she'd "be able to see the true side of humans" well, what he thought was their true side. She ignored him, but he kept persisting. Finally she slammed her book shut, why was he so insistant?

"Thanks for your help Andrea, I would have been stuck if you hadn't decided to come." Lina said with a smile. Andrea glared, if it were up to her, Lina wouldn't of had that problem, or any problem. No one would have any problems, they'd all be dead.

But she didn't have her way, Vash had force her into promising to not hurt anyone. It was because of that, that no one was dead, and because of that, she was bored out of her mind. She growled in her head as she followed Lina into another building, there was a large hole in the middle of the swinging doors. The men inside immeadiately brought their talking down to low whispers. Lina glowered at them as she put her bags down.

"This is for my drink." She said quietly, pulling out some money.

"How are you feeling Lina?" He asked, putting the bills away.

"Fine thanks."

"Poor shame about Ericks. You must be heart broken. You know you used to be-"

"There ain't no "used to be!" I've liked Ericks from the start and I still do. I don't care if he lied to me about his name."

"Now Lina-" The bartender started, but he was cut off by another patron.

"His name!? He lied to us about who he really was! We could have died by that monster's hands at any time moment! We're glad we found out now before it too late!"

"You're a jerk all of you are! Ericks has shown us nothing but kindness and as soon as you find out htat's not his real name you turn against him! What kind of people are you!?" With that Lina grabbed her bags and ran out.

"Lina!" SOmeone got up to go after her but he grabbed his thoat instead. No one saw the dark haired girl come in, it was almost as if she appeared out of thin air. She was glaring darkly around the saloon.

She turned to face the and... vanished. A few seconds later, the people inside were able to breath again.

Andrea couldn't believe it, those humans where so, she couldn't even think of a word to explain how disgusted she was. If Vash was trying to prove how good the humans really were, he was achieving the complete opposite.

Andrea stepped through the door just in time to see Lina kicked Vash in the head, drop her bags and run into her room. Granny ran after her calling her name, leaving Vash on the floor clutching his head.

"I'm okay," he croaked, "Guess she doesn't want me to leave." He got up and rubed his head. "Man that hurt." Andrea stared at him, glaced at the fallen grocieries, and went into the kitchen. The sooner she put the bags down, the sooner she could get back to her book. Vash came in after her with the other two bags.

"Hey Andrea, I need to," He paused, "I guess "warn you" would be the best way to put it. When we leave, there's a chance that we'll be joined by two women from the Bernadelli Insurance Society. They're... odd, but well meaning. I know you won't like either one, Meryl can be mean and hard headed and Millie is... always cheerful," here Vash shudderer a bit, "but I'm telling you ahead of time and I'm asking you to be extra nice to them."

Andrea looked at him like he was crazy. She had been nice enough to the humans so far, at least in her opinion, there was no way she was going to be "etra" nicee to anyone, Vash or human. She left before Vash could say anything else to her.

"You want what?" Wolfwood asked.

"You heard me." Vash responded calmly.

"Why now?"

"Why not?"

"Because you can get a haircut anytime." The Priest said impatiently. The trio had been just about to leave when Vash made the sudden request.

"But I want one now." Vash whined. Wolfwood looked at Andrea, she was reading a book by the same author as the firt and wouldn't be any help. Wolfwood sighed impatiently.

"Fine."


	12. HE HAS A WHAT?

I'm sorry for any mistakes in Ch 11. I was on a friend's computer and in a hurry. I finally have a computer of my own (_again_) and so when I'm not too lazy I'll type up Ch13 & 14 up and post them. I didn't have a comp when I was inspired to write again and so Ch 12-14 are in a notebook, bleh. Xp I do have some fine tuning to do to 13 and 14 before they are posted because I did not have my manga around when I wrote them.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy Ch 12 and as I promised JayThorne, it's nice and long. (it's almost 3 and a half pages.)

* * *

"-dear Meryl, Happy birthday to you!" Meryl looked up as a large cupcake with candles was put in front of her. 

"Oh, you guys didn't have to do this." The insurance woman started.

"Nonsense," her friend Karen responded sharply,"you're 23 today, no one should work on their birthday."

"Twenty three? Then that means that back then-Wow you seemed so experienced for being so young. So what was it like seeing the Fifth moon incident in person?"

"Mark!" Karen scolded, "This isn't a vacation we're talking about, she's lucky to be alive at all!"

"It's not really as bad as you think," Meryl announced, "Sure we were in constant danger, but Vash went out of his way to make sure no one was killed. Once he stopped trying to ditch us, he turned out to be a very honorable and friendly person."

"You're kidding right? There's no way a woman can be happy constantly putting herself in danger."

"I don't believe this is social time." The group that had surrounded Meryl's desk parted and their boss walked forward. "Meryl, may I see you in my office?"

Meryl nodded as she got up. The crowd stayed where it was as the boss shut the door. He only ever called people into his office to fire them or give out an assignement, and Meryl's assignment had been missing for two years.

"HE HAS A WHAT!?" The entire office went silent as Meryl came stomping out of the boss' office and searched her desk for her locker key. "What the hell was he thinking!?" she mumbled as she stormed off to the locker room.

"Why hasn't she been found yet!" Knives yelled. Andrea had been missing for at least two weeks now. If she disappeared right after he and Legato had left, then it was even longer. Legato stood there calmly, unintimidated by Knives' anger.

"We have limited resources master. The remaning Gung-Ho-Guns have been sent out to search and I am using all of my abilities to find the MIstress. The only member of the Gung-Ho-Guns that I can no contact is Chapel."

"Just as well, I don't want him distracted from his mission. We will have to find Andrea without him." Legato nodded as he bowed and turned to leave.

Knives leaned back in his chair. He had tried to contact Andrea telepathically, but only found that she was masking her mind from him. He had had his reservations about teaching her the ability, as it was going to be used when she was older, but it related to the lesson at the time and he taught her. He frowned and reached out, maybe he could catch her off guard.

Wolfwood grumbled, they werew in the middle of the desert and he was carrying everyone's gear. Not willingly of course, Andrea was making him do it. Vash was oblivious of course and thought he was just being nice. Man did he hate kids.

"Man," Vash said, idly putting his hands behind his head, "that was a close call back there in Little Jersey. I thought for sure those bandits were going to start a fight."

"You really think their boss decided to go hassle some other town just by listenin' to you talk?" The priest tried hard not to lose his cigarette.

"Of course not! My good looks may have had something to do with it." Vash sniffed. Wolfwood burst out laughing and Vash looked hurt.

"With an ugly mug like that?" Wolfwood said between breaths.

Andrea glared at them. They were like two little boys. Vash said something in his defence but she payed no attention to it as she felt a tug on her mind. She could sense that Knives was looking for her and just like he taught her, she pulled in her powers and put a wall around them. Now she would seem to have as much poer as a, what the humans call, psychic. She could have pulled her powers in to the point where she would seem like a normal human, but that would have used too much power and hence defeat the purpose.

"Something up Needle Noggin?" He and Vash were in New Oregon in Vash's room enjoying a meal. Vash took his gaze from Andrea and looked at the priest.

"I'm worried about Andrea. She hasn't dont anything all day." Wolfwood raised an eyebrow at him and looked at said girl. He didn't see anything different.

"If you say so. I don't see anything different."

"It's hard to explain." Vash sighed, "She's...more distant. It's not the first time she's been that way either."

"You think something's wrong with her?" Wolfwood crossed his arms, "Or do you think she's doing something else.?" Vash sighed again, he knew Wolfwood really meant "do you think she's talking with Knives?" but that wasn't what he thought. He shook his head.

"No, it's not that. Whatever it is, her power lessens. I can feel it, so the next time she's herself again, I'm going to ask her what's going on." He put his elbow on the table, and his head on his hand, "I hope she's not sick." Wolfwood took a bite of his food before answering.

"So what are we doing here anyway?"

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Like who? The insurance girls?"

"Nope, I can't tell you, it's a secret." Vash said in a sing song voice.

"Oi stop being an idiot!"

"Why should I tell you? I know you're keeping stuff from me." Wolfwood grunted and polished off his food grudgingly as Vash went back to watching Andrea.

Andrea didn't even notice Vash and Wolfwood's conversation. Since she hadn't any use for this power before, she had to concentrate in order to use it, and it was wearing her out. When she felt Knives stop searching for her, she took a breath and let her powers return to normal.

"Are you okay Andrea?" Vash was speaking to her, Wolfwood had gone to his room after he had finished eating. Andrea just shrugged and showed him what she had been doing, leaving Vash confused.

"You don't want Knives to find?" Andrea shrugged again in a "I don't really care" fashion. She then stood and walked over to the couch, ready to get some sleep.

Vash smiled as he watched her go to sleep. Though there were quite a few close calls, he suspected that she was warming to him. There might be hope for her yet. He thought about it a bit before going to bed himself. The day had been long and he was half expcting the insurance girls to pop out of somewhere at any minute.

In the morning Andrea woke up slowly, something wasn't quite right. She sat up and looked around, everything looked fine but there was just something... Her eyes fell upon vash. He was sleeping, but it wasn't peaceful. His face was scrunched up with no real emotion, he was having a nightmare. Well daymare since the sun is up she thought. Andrea thought about going back to sleep, but she wasn't really tired enough for that. She got up instead and went to take a shower.

Vash was still having his nightmare when she came out, though she wasn't really surprised since time worked differently in dreams. There was probably never a dream where time in both realms was the same. She stared at him for a whole wondering what he was dreaming about. If she used a bit more power than with Lina, she might be able to get into his head. She wouldn't be able to see the dream, that was impossible no matter what your power level. No, she would just try to find out some names or emotions.

Slowly and carefully she reashed out to touch Vash's mind, it was easy since she had done it when he was awake. Just like she had done with Lina, Andrea searched for the part of Vash's mind that was controling the dream. Upon finding it, she gently reached out to touch it.

The next thing she knew, she was staggering back and falling. He head was reeling with a myriad of emotions. She hadn't even fully touched his dream! She sat there on the floor for a little while to recover. As he mind slowly started to clear, Vash appeared before her.

"Andrea, Andrea are you okay? What happened?" She nodded as Vash helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked again. He was just ignored though as Andrea put on her thinking face and went to the her spot by the window.

Vash was worried, this was definately _not _the way Andrea acted. He wondered what had happened that got her thinking. He wanted to ask her but he knew that she wouldn't tell him. He sighed and got ready for his morning routine.

"Yo Spikey- UGH!" Wolfwood broke into a coughing fit as he opened the door a few hours later. "It's an oven in here! Open the a damn window will ya?" The priest stalked over to said window and, much to Vash's protestation, opened it. "Hey, what's with her?" He pointed to Andrea.

"I dunno, when I woke up she was sitting on the floor and looked like she had seen a ghost or something." Vash explained. Wolfwood waved a hand infront of Andrea's face and got no reaction.

"Well, you were talking about strange behavior."

Andrea ignored the priest as he waved his hand in her face and as he walked back over to Vash to talk with him. Her mind had instantly started to sort things out and was now getting to the point where she could think abouto what happened clearly. She couldn't begin to say how many emotions there were that she felt, but she knew there were some that were more prominant that the others.

The first and foremost feeling was pain, the same faint pain she felt when she was with Knives. The cause and why it was more noticable in Vash than Knives was unknown. She wasn't really quite sure if she wanted to either, but she probably would find out eventually.

Andrea felt betrayed, extremely betrayed. She knew that she hadn't actually be betrayed herself, but she felt angry at the person who had done the betraying. Whoever it might have been. Fortunately, she felt determined to set things right.

She wiggled in her seat, she wasn't fond of what she was feeling. Not fond, but curious about them. What made Vash feel this way, and to whom were these emotions directed?

Vash was talking to Wolfwood about a local family feud over a recently excavated plant, when he felt Andrea in his head, asking about his dream.

"Hey Wolfwood, can we talk about this later? I still have something I need to do." The priest gave him a look, but left without a word. Vash turned to face Andrea, _"You saw my dream?"_ he asked telepathically. Andrea shook her head and showed him what she did and what she felt. Needless to say, Vash was quite surprised. _"I don't think Knives can even do that." _she shrugged and asked him about his dream again. Vash's face saddened as he sat on the bed. _"Knives told you how we came to be on this planet right?" _Andrea nodded, he had told her that he had cause the big fall. _"Well I was dreaming about after our escape pod landed. I had just found out what he had done, that he had changed the ships navigation to where the ships with humans would crash. That he was the reason why all our friends had died..." _He trailed off as he remembered what happened. _"We had trusted him and he betrayed us. I was so angry about it and we ended up fighting. It was then that I vowed to Rem that I would do everything in my power to protect the humans from Knives. I would not let her die in vain." _

Andrea watched as Vash got up to take a shower. Well, she thought to herself, here are some more things to think about. She never would have guessed that it was Knives' fault for Vash's defiance. And what about this Rem person? Vash must have deeply respected her in order to feel such conviction and loss. She figured that at one point Knives must have too, since she now knew that the pain she felt was the pain of loss.

This was all confusing. Knives said that it was Rem's fault for Vash's behavior, but Vash was saying otherwise. If Knives was wrong about Vash, could he be wrong about the humans? She snorted, yeah, and she was born on Earth.


	13. Golden Age

W00t! Finally got a chance to type up Chapter 13. I've been swamped with laziness and many many things to write. So I'm sorry my dear and faithful readers for making you wait so long. I was in the middle of a Transformers project(yes i'm a fan), and decided to take a break since I was having trouble with it. Andi came to mind since she's not even remotely related and it had been a while. Anyway, enough of my ramblings, part of Chapter 14 is still written in my notebook so I have to finish that so yeah... Oh! And if you get a chance, check out Jaythorne's gallery on Deviantart. She drew a grown up Andrea for me! :3

* * *

"Sensei, are you sure this is the right place?"

"Yes Brad, I'm sure." The one known as Sensei answered. He was wearing a broad brimmed hat and a cloak. Both of which, plus a suitcase, were black. Standing as his tallest he wouldn't come more than two inches above someone's waist. He had old Earth Asian features and was bald.

His companion however; was a giant of a man. Towering at least a foot about Vash, Brad wore a long sleeve shirt, vest, jeans, and scowl. His hair would have been what Earthlings called, "Elvis style."

"Don't see why we have to come here. Grounders are selfish."

"Is this your first time meeting him Brad?" Sensei inquired as he started walking.

"I met hims one when I was five." Brad stated, swinging his own suitcase over his shoulder.

"So this is the first time you're truly going to met a legend." Sensei stopped in the middle of a plaza and looked around. "Ah, there he is." Brad followed Sensei's gaze and his jaw dropped.

"You can't mean that bozo in a headlock!" He pointed to where some children were playing, but sensei was already headed in that direction, saying something about "not changing."

"Oh hey Sensei!" Vash greeted when he looked up at the shadows that had fallen over him. He wriggled out from underneath the pile of children that had formed while he was playing. "Okay, that's enough for today, I have grown up matter to talk to the adults about." One of the children jumped on him suddenly and twisted his arm behind his back. Brad sighed as Vash started crying uncle. He couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched. He looked around and found his eyes landing on a girl about fourteen, with black hair and grey eyes, staring at them with malice. The girl gave him the creeps.

"...so uh, Andrea!" Vash was standing now and dusting off his clothes. "Oh come on Andi, don't be like that." Vash whined. Brad was surprised when the grey eyed girl sneered and started walking towards them.

"Hm, I never expected you to gain a traveling partner, much less one so young." Sensei commented.

"Yeah well, there's an explination behind that. A pretty long explanation."

"Oh I'm sure it is." Both he and Vash headed for the hotel with Brad and Andrea trailing behind.

"Well then," Sensei said a short time later as the four of them drank tea in a hotel room, "It's been ten years Vash, everyone wants to see you. Many things have changed."

"Not that it matters to you."

"Brad!"

"No Sensei," Vash intervened, "I know some people see me as a monster." Andrea's head shot up, what!? She didn't have to be psychic right then to know that Vash felt what others thought. Brad mumbled something she couldn't hear, which was probably better for him.

"Brad!" Sensei chided, I know how you feel about our situation but Vash is the only one is able to stop Knives."

"Actually," Vash cut in. He shrank back when all eyes landed on him, but he cleared his throat before speaking again. "Actually, Andrea is our sister."

"You mean to tell me there's another-"

"Brad no!" Cups went flying as Vash jumped across the table to keep Brad from making the last mistake of his life. "Knives got to her first, she won't hesitate to kill you for thinking wrong." The larger of the two said nothing and simply shoved Vash away before getting up. He put on a sour face and left. Sensei sighed.

"Don't worry about him. Meeting a legend like you for the first time would spook anybody." Andrea wasn't so sure, she hadn't felt fear from Brad, only admiration, respect, and resentment. "Besides," Sensei continued, "he's quite smitten with Jessica and he told her so right before we left. The problem is, she shot him down saying she was going to marry you." Vash jaw dropped to the floor as Andrea gave him a look. "That's exactly what Brad said." Sensei chuckled.

"I'm surprised that he didn't attack me as soon as he saw me. Jessica's a nice girl, but she's way too young for me."

"Oh I'm sure she knows that, but she still has her dreams." Sensei swung the suitcase Brad had carried up onto the table and opened it. "Now, on to business. Kain recently reached level four fourteen, so he made your equipment this time. Your coat should be more bullet proof now." He held up said garment and Andrea almost gagged. The coat looked just liked Vash's old coat. It was long, and red, and had a missing left sleeve. The only difference was that it had three tubes sticking out of each side. It looked awful.

The old man next held up an artificial arm. It was a mystery to Andrea as to how Vash lost his arm, but she had a feeling it had something to do with the humans.

"Shall we commence the surgery then?"

--

Wolfwood wriggled through the sea of legs with a bowl of noodles. Having found Vash's room empty of man and brat, the priest had gone in search of food on his own. It was shortly after he got his food that there was an explosion. Being the curious guy that he was, Wolfwood slipped out of the restaurant, "accidentally" forgetting to pay his bill in the chaos. Of course by the time he got to the scene, the crowd had alread gathered so tightly that the only way to get through was around or between people's legs.

He slithered out from underneath a woman's dress to the front of the crowd. He casually slurped his noodles as the woman beat on his head and called him a pervert.

In front of him loomed an orcha class sand steamer with an armored car sticking out of the side like a giant iron thorn. A group of shoulders, conveniently stationed nearby, surrounded the steamer.

"Most of the passengers had already disembarked, but there were still enough left to be taken hostage." someone reported to an officer. "Unfortunately, one of them is the son of the head of the Polo family."

"Sensei can you watch Andrea?" Vash asked as he buttoned his new coat. "She's not quite past that 'I'll just do it behind your back.' stage yet."

"So I take it that you're going then." Sensei responded.

"If there's a chance that I can save just one life..." Sensei nodded in understanding and Vash left. Sensei let out a breath.

"He'll fight for peace until the day he dies." With that he started to straighten up the room.

Andrea didn't acknowledge. This was all so confusing. Knives said that humans are bad because they killed their home planet, are greedy and self centered, and were now slowly killing off their people. He had said that all humans were greedy and that every decision that they made was made out of consideration for themselves and themselves alone. The idea was all well and good except for the fact that some of the humans she had met so far did not meet this ideal. Was it simply because Vash was a magnet for these rare few or was it because the greedy were actually the minority? She rubbed her face in frustration, who was right!?

"Did Knives ever tell you the history of the humans?" Sensei asked, as if sensing her thoughts. He continued when she nodded. "What about the Golden Age?" Andrea's brow furrowed, the what? "I thought as much, he only told you what he wanted you wanted to hear. The Golden Age was a three hundred year period after plant technology had been perfected. Both races lived in peace." Andrea was listening avidly to him, where did he get this information from? Again it was as if Sensei was reading her thoughts, "You learn a thing or two from living on a partially crashed ship. You might be able to join Vash the next time he graces us with a visit." She nodded eagerly, of course she would she would be there. She had always enjoyed the stories Knives had told her about Earth, and a chance to learn about it, as she assumed that part of the ships computer still worked, was a chance she was going to take no matter what.

Sensei was no packing his bag. He looked as if he was mentally debating something. Andrea waited patiently, hoping whatever he had to say was more about this "Golden Age." It was, but not what she had been expecting.

"Things changed when people discovered what your kind's powers could really be used for. Old fueds and debts were brought up and things turned chaotic. Some argued that we should treat you with respect, but they were ignored, and by time we realized what we had done, it was too late. Our only hope was space, and fourty two years later we left our home to let it die in peace." He donned his coat and hat. "I'm sorry, I can't stay with you until Vash gets back, Brad and I have to get back as soon as we can. Out of nearly five hundred people, only a handful know how to use the computers." He shook his head with a smile. "I trust I'm leaving you with enough to keep you occupied for a while. And I really mean you coming to visit us." he turned and went out the door. Indeed, he had left Andrea with much to think about.

--

It was well after dark by time Vash was able to get back to his room. It only took him a moment to find Andrea, who was at her spot by the window. He wasn't surprised that Sensei was gone. He grabbed his bad and went into the bathroom. A hot shower was sounding good right now.

Taking a look in the mirror, Vash winced as he took a breath to sigh. His coat might have been more bullet proof, but it still hurt to get shot. His torso was covered in tiny bruises, and he was pretty sure something was fractured.

His face looked no better either, as it had been beaten on when he tried to prevent someone from killing another. Meryl had given him a cloth soaked in cold water to help with the swelling. He winced again as the hot water hit a particularly sensitive spot.

Oh he had been surprised to see Meryl and Millie there, but their main concern was to get him away from the sand steamer _before_ it was crawling with soldiers. They ended up on top of a cliff that over looked the town as they waited for the confusion to die down.

Meryl didn't say much to him, which was probably all and good since he probably couldn't have answered anyway. Much tohis surprise, he found himself glad that she was back. He wasn't quite sure how, but he enjoyed the short tempered woman's company.

Steam billowed after Vash as he left the bathroom. He had been too tired to put on anything else but a pair of sweat pants. He looked over to see Andrea still looking out the window. He started to say something but stopped and walked over instead. When Andrea didn't move, he took a closer look and realized that she was asleep. He smiled and carried Andrea to the couch. She looked like such a normal child.

* * *

ahem Realized that what I had of Ch 14 should actually be put into 13. So, I lied, I have NONE of 14 written. Please don't kill me for my inability to read ahead. Anyway, I tacked on that last bit so give it a go before you stab me with your pointed baseball bats.


	14. Kicked me out

Turns out I didn't have that much left to write up! Whoo!! Any how, enjoy this and tell all your friends!! I'm sure I lost some reads while I was out for a year. Again, I'm really sorry for just up and leaving without a word I'll try not to let it happen again!!!

* * *

Voices filtered through the door late that morning. One of them was high pitched and whiny, making Andrea grind her teeth as she sat up on the couch. She wasn't surprised when she heard Vash's voice as well; he was always in some sort of trouble. Whoever this lady was, was going to get it for interrupting her sleep.

"-I've seen you do stupid things before but Vash, how could you be _this_ irresponsible!

"Meryl please-"

"She's a child for crying out loud! _A child_!"

"Meryl please, this is the most responsible that I've ever been in my life. I can't tell you why, you just have to trust me."

"Now why should I do that when-"

"Oh she's adorable!" Both Meryl and Vash closed their mouths and looked at Millie, and then over Vash's shoulder to see what she was looking at. Andrea was standing in the door way, not having one of the happiest looks on her face.

"Sorry if we woke you Andrea," Vash stated, turning to look at her, "we were just having a discussion about you. This is Millie and Meryl," he pointed to each. "They're going to be following us around now so we– I -don't get in trouble." So that's the annoying one's name, Andrea thought. She glared at Meryl until what Vash said sunk in and then she glared at him.

"It's not my fault," he said in his defense, "And it usually works..." She kept glaring at him, she had been tolerant of the humans so far, mostly because of promises that Vash somehow twisted out of her, but she would _not_ let a couple of humans follow her around no matter what the reason.

"Don't worry Andrea; it's not going to be for long. They're only going to be here until they get reassigned."

"Actually Mr. Vash, we've been permanently assigned to you now, isn't that great!" Millie exclaimed with a large smile. Andrea glared more as Vash stood speechless.

"This means we'll chase after you twice as hard when you ditch us."

"D-ditch? Oh no, I'd never do that, you must be thinking of someone else." Vash responded as he waved his hands in front of him. Meryl walked up to him and poked him in the chest.

"We're on to you Vash; don't forget we know all your tricks already." She poked him again, "so don't even think about trying to leave without us." With that, Meryl turned and headed down the hall for the room she shared with Millie.

"Nice to meet you Andrea." The tall girl announced as she followed Meryl. It was only when the girls where gone when Vash regained his voice.

"WHAT!?" His jaw nearly dropped to the floor. Andrea glared daggers at him and went back into the room, locking it behind her. "Hey! Andrea open up!" Like all beings locked out of a room, Vash jiggled the handle and rattled the door. It of course did not work. "Andrea c'mon, open the door, my stuff is in there." She refused though and he gave up after a minute. He trudged to the room the girls were staying in and knocked on the door. He only said one thing when Meryl answered. "Andrea locked me out."

A few moments later, Andrea sensed Meryl at the door. She did not make any movement that indicated that she would leave her book, another that she was "given", and open the door. The standard handle jiggling and door rattling did not faze her. The clicking of the lock opening did make her look up though and she was almost stunned to see the short woman walk into the room.

"Vash locks us out of his room all the time, especially when he's trying to ditch us." She explained, holding up the lock pick that she purchased early in her adventures with Vash. Andrea _glared_ at her. How _dare_ a human intrude on her like this! Meryl ignored the glare and put the lock pick away. "Anyway, Vash and I have been talking," The aforementioned gunman magically appeared behind Meryl shaking his head. Oblivious, Meryl continued talking, "and we believe it would do you some good if you had more of a feminine influence in your life." Oh yes, this woman was not going to last long here. She didn't need any type of influence that came from a short, high pitched, annoying woman that did not know how keep to herself. Slowly she started to get up, she was going to take care of this woman right now.

"Meryl maybe you should leave." Vash stated, "Andrea doesn't take kindly to being told what to do."

"Gee, I wonder whose fault that is." The woman shot back shortly before putting a hand to her head. "Great, now I have a headache. Thanks a lot Vash." She turned on her heel and left. Vash couldn't say anything to defend himself so he closed the door when the girls left again.

"Andrea stop it, please. You can't go around trying to kill everyone you see, it's rude. I know she can be annoying at times but she means well. She's only trying to do her job and she kind of grows on you after awhile." Vash sort of smiled at the latter, as if he thought it was ironic or something. Andrea on the other hand thought she was going to vomit. Why did Vash have to get so…mushy, when it came to humans?

She chided herself, Vash was trying to distract her and it was working. Concentrate on killing the human. Vash continued to try and talk Andrea out of it; he had to before Meryl was seriously hurt. If anyone was killed while Andrea was in his care-

Ignoring Vash and slowly killing Meryl had the plant child's attention averted sufficiently enough that it wasn't until he was thoroughly in her head that Andrea realized that Knives had found her. She didn't care if he did or not, but she like being out in the open, and not behind those awful compound walls. She quickly pulled in her powers. If she was lucky he wouldn't have pinpointed her location yet.

Vash, sensing her power lessen stopped talking. He knew now that she when she did that, she was hiding from Knives. He was almost slightly grateful that he had chosen to search for his apprentice at this very moment. He would never know he had just helped a human though.

"Andrea please, just give her a chance, you get used to her after a while."

----

Knives grew furious. His desk cracked as he brought his fists down upon it. How could she?! How could she be with that sorry excuse for a plant that is his brother? He had yet to feel something like when she started to hate humans, but with Vash's influence who knew what her current opinion of them was. His desk fell to the floor in pieces. No, this was not the place to take his anger out. He had to do something else, something that would agonize Vash as well. The humans, he had taken his frustrations over Andrea's disappearance by making the humans go out into the desert and then killing them. He had only done one or two places so far but, but now he would show Vash exactly what it meant to get him angry.

A commotion outside got his attention. About a hundred yards away a large group of people stood, members of the local peace keeping group, whatever they were called. Among them was a giant of a man, at least twelve feet tall, with a green Mohawk. He was trapped from the neck down in a steel box.

"_Legato."_

"_I have already sent Grey, Hoppered, and Mid-Valley out to meet them." _Legato answered, anticipating his master's question. Knives nodded even though no one was there to see him. The giant man was released from the box. His right arm was missing. In its place was a robotic arm, no doubt made specifically for throwing the three, six foot plus metal boomerangs sitting in a cart next to him. When he threw it forward, there was an explosion a split second before he released, and the boomerang gained even more momentum. It was also at that very moment that the other members of the group opened fired upon the mansion.

Indeed the three gung ho guns that Legato mentioned had indeed gone out to meet the intruders. Grey the nine lives had gotten hit by the first boomerang and knocked back while Hoppered and Mid-Valley were lost in the spray of bullets. Some of the aggressors were using explosive ammunition and by the time they ran out, the mansion was in shambles. Only the area with Knives' office remained intact. The rest was just debris now; it looked as if some horrible disaster had come through, which technically was true.

The man with the Mohawk stepped forward carrying the remaining boomerang. He went through the wreckage, inspecting certain areas more thoroughly than others. Knives watched from his office window as Grey jumped out of the debris to kill the giant. Mid-Valley and Hoppered reappeared to and made their own attacks. Knives quickly got bored though and told his subordinates to fall back. He counted how many were left, about forty. Good, there were more than enough left. He grinned, it was sadistic, and demonic grin. The humans below suddenly lined up in a row and walked for the container the now deceased man with the green Mohawk had been transported in. They were struggling and trying to figure out what was going on but of course none of their efforts were fruitful and they crawled up the ladder on the side of the huge crate and jumped in. There was no room for forty people, but they made themselves fit. The cries of the dying hadn't even faded when Knives gave the order to gather up what was left and move to a secondary base that Knives had made prepared just in case.

Knives left the crumbling remains of his office, he had liked it so. Oh well, he didn't have time to dwell on material possessions he had to find Andrea. Yes, he knew she was with Vash but Vash's location was one thing he didn't know. He had been in her mind completely, but he couldn't tell how far away she was, or what direction she was in. Their powers didn't work that way.


End file.
